In 2003, a group of neighbors in Irvine, CA came together to erect a temporary memorial for fallen heroes of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. The temporary memorial was erected annually from 2003 through 2010, and ceremonies were held in front of it every Memorial Day, July 5th, and September 11th, along with month-long candlelight vigils every June.

Finally, in 2010, the group of neighbors joined with the city of Irvine in assembling a permanent version of the nation's only memorial dedicated exclusively to listing the names of each fallen hero from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. The memorial was dedicated on November 14, 2010, and since then the goal of the group of neighbors has been to spread the word about the memorial so that Gold Star families can visit it.

There are currently 5,714 names engraved in the memorial. The names represent the heroes who died between October 1, 2001 and September 30, 2010. The names of heroes killed after September 30th will be engraved and unveiled at a Memorial Day ceremony in Irvine, CA on May 30, 2011.